When they step into the Hokage's office, Naruto is struck by the sight of the Sandaime. Naruto's never seen him so young. His weathered face lacks the liver spots Naruto knew so well as a kid and his hair isn't yet fully white. In fact, it is almost split evenly between brown and white. Naruto can't help but think time travel is so weird.
Every time he sees somebody he feels like he's taking part in some kind of historical film. That, at any moment, someone's going to yell, "Cut!". Strange thoughts are taking root in his mind too; Naruto is almost afraid to let his eyes close for longer than it takes to blink. For no reason at all, he's half-convinced that everyone and everything is going to disappear the second he lets them out of his sight for more than a few seconds.
Naruto's attention is snapped back to the situation at hand when Sarada grunts behind him. He blushes, realizing he has frozen in the doorway of the Hokage's office. His dad, standing before the Sandaime's desk, is looking oddly at him while the old man himself seems impassive but Naruto can tell from his eyes he is both curious and a little amused by Naruto's behavior.
"Sorry," he mumbles to Sarada as he hurriedly strides forward to situate himself next to his dad. Sarada treads on his heels; falling into a parade rest a step behind him and Minato.
With the three of them all lined up before the Sandaime, Minato bows. When he's erect once more, he explains, "Lord Hokage, I found this shinobi with my student after he disappeared in the middle of training. When I asked who he was he introduced himself as Menma. The girl, Uchiha Saraka, is his apprentice. He then requested we come to speak with you."
The old man runs his fingers through his beard. "I see," he replies.
Naruto clears his throat and pulls himself to his full height. "If possible, I would like for myself and my student to be able to speak to you alone first Lord Hokage."
Minato twitches at his request but the sandaime leans forward in interest. Naruto is sure that's piqued his curiosity. If it were him behind the desk instead he'd be interested too.
"Very well," agrees the old man.
Minato startles. "Sir—"
The sandaime cuts him off with a lifted palm. "It will just be a moment, Minato," he promises the young shinobi.
Hesitantly, the blond nods. He steps back and orients himself toward the door. Before he leaves, though, he frowns at them all and says to the old man, "I wracked my brain all the way here, sir. I can't recall any of my students talking about a girl named Saraka and I've never seen Menma before."
The sandaime leans back in his chair. "Hmm," he hums, noncommittal. "Thank you, Minato," he says.
"Sir," replies Minato as he opens up the office door. He pauses on the threshold, glancing once more at Naruto and Sarada.
The old man chuffs tickled at the young man's behavior. "Go on, Minato," he urges. Lips lifting with a teasing smile, he jokes, "I am not so old I can't hold my own."
"Yes, sir," relents Minato and he steps out, closing the door behind him.
The smile on the sandaime's face runs away when they are alone. Leaning forward on his desk, he steeples his fingers and says, "You have me alone. What is it you would like to do?"
Naruto blinks. "Do?" he echoes, confused. Right after, it dawns on him with horrifying clarity and he shakes his head wildly. "No, old man—" Naruto begins in a babble that he has to force himself to cut short. Pressing a hand to his chest, he bows low and apologizes, "Sorry, Lord Third, all we want is to talk."
"About?" inquires the old man, head tilting back as he surveys them for deceit.
He licks his lips. "I-I–," Naruto stutters before stopping and breathing out. He is the Hokage. Naruto can do this. Has to. Sarada and Kakashi are counting on him right now to handle this. Fix it. Firming his expression into a serious frown, he tells the sandaime, "It seems myself, my friends' daughter here, and Hatake Kakashi have traveled through time to the past."
The old man leans back, a smirk breaking out across his face. "Well, well," he mutters between chuckles. "That's a new one."
"I'm serious!" Naruto snaps, annoyed at the sandaime's reaction.
"I'm sure you are," replies the man, smirk fading. He crosses his legs and places his arms on either side of his chair. "How are you going to prove it?" he asks.
That's a good question.
"Uh…" Naruto stammers while he tries to come up with something damning. Unfortunately, he really only knows the broad strokes of this time period. The people of it he knows even less about. So many of them had died by the time Naruto was born.
Sarada snaps her fingers "A Hokage secret!" she cries.
Naruto whips his attention to the preteen. "What?" he asks as the girl stares at him with a proud grin.
"You have to know some, right?" she pushes, leaning in to grab and shake his arm. "Something that's been passed from him to Lady Tsunade, to Gramps, to you?"
He gapes at the girl. "Sarad—" he begins only to shake his head. "Saraka! Watch it! You're blabbing a lot of stuff about the future, you know," he scolds as he takes his arm back from her.
Immediately, the girl wilts. "Ah, sorry…" she mumbles to her toes.
Naruto sighs, feeling a little bad. Sarada only wants to help. Her idea is a good one too— Even if he'd have preferred to keep he's their time's Hokage a secret. "It's okay," he says while dropping a heavy hand atop her head. From beneath it, she peeks up at him, hopeful. Naruto smiles. "Let's try to be a bit more careful going forward, yeah?"
She beams back at him. "Yes, sir," she agrees.
The sandaime clears his throat. "You're the Hokage in the future?" he inquires, gaze appraising.
Naruto lifts his chin. "Since the cat's out of the bag," he says, "I am."
The old man glances at Sarada. "The girl has the right idea," he admits. The sandaime's elbows find his desktop and he pulls himself forward towards Naruto and Sarada. "What can you share with me only I should know?"
"Erm," Naruto stumbles, looking at the girl next to him. He's quite aware Sarada wants to one day wear the hat. Still, that's a dream of many kids at one point in their lives or another. It does not guarantee she will one day be the Hokage. "Can I come closer?" he asks the old man.
This is a weird situation and the last thing Naruto wants to do is accidentally freak the sandaime out by doing something unexpected. The old man not quite smiles at Naruto and nods. "Yes, you may," he agrees.
Naruto approaches and then cups his hands around his mouth to lean in and whisper a few things to the third. As he does, he watches Sarada out of the corners of his eyes bite her upper lip. He almost wants to smile. Naruto suspects the old man has to be making a face to earn such a reaction from the girl.
"My," murmurs the sandaime when Naruto finishes and pulls back to stand at attention beside his desk.
Naruto can't help himself. He snickers. "Surprised you, haven't I, old man?" he asks.
This brings a smile to the sandaime's lips. "Old man," he echoes, a hand running through his beard. He eyes Naruto with something almost like wonder. "I suppose I would have been by the time you were born."
"Sorry," says Naruto, realizing now how rude the moniker must have sounded the first time he used it. "I'm not trying to insult you, you know. It was my nickname for you when I was a kid." Naruto hesitates before quickly diving in for a short embrace. "It's actually really nice seeing you again!" he explains as the old man blinks at his lightning-fast affection. He laughs and runs a hand through his hair. "I'm kinda getting a bit how Kakashi felt when he saw D— his teacher."
"We are dead," states the sandaime as Naruto's words register.
Naruto looks away. "We're from decades in the future, Lord Third," he demures.
"Hm. I suppose," agrees the old man. He tips back in his chair. "Now, what to do with you," he mutters.
"Betcha you didn't think this was the direction your day was gonna go," Naruto jokes with a smirk.
The third's head rolls his way and he huffs, "No, I can't say I did." He reaches out over his desk and for his pipe which he has sat on the corner of it. Filling it with tobacco, the old man then lights the bottom and takes a drag. When he finishes, he asks, "You said Hatake Kakashi is also a traveler?"
Naruto bobs his head. "Yeah, but he's…" he trails off and scrunches his nose as he thinks of how to describe the state of his teacher. "Timeline appropriate?" he settles on. Minato didn't balk at Kakashi-Sensei's appearance. It must mean he's currently the right age for this time.
"Timeline appropriate," repeats the sandaime, clearly confused.
"He's a kid is what N— Mena means," Sarada pipes up from where she still stands in the middle of the room.
"That does help things," says the sandaime before he takes another puff of his pipe. "I suppose, for the night, you may stay with me and my family," he remarks. He switches his pipe for a brush and reaches for a piece of paper. "I will have a place found for you tomorrow," he explains while Naruto, from where he stands, can see the old man is writing directions for whoever's going to be in charge of finding them a place.
"Thank you," says Naruto. He licks his lips. "And would it be possible to give us full access to the archives and such? I think we're going to need to do a lot of research to get home," he confesses.
"Yes," replies the sandaime without hesitation. He tilts his head then and puts aside his brush, instructions on the paper only half-finished. "How, exactly, did this happen?" he asks.
Naruto always knew this question would come. It doesn't change that it's still going to take time to explain. Or that some of it is a little fuzzy. Naruto isn't sure even Kakashi-Sensei will be able to answer all of the third's questions to the man's satisfaction. He wasn't conscious at the end there when things went really wrong.
"Whoo man, it's a long story," Naruto answers with a heavy exhale. He lets his gaze flicker to the closed door of the sandaime's office. "Maybe you should ask Minato to come back in? Tell him we're all good first?" he suggests.
"Yes. A cover story will also be in order if you will be here more than a couple of days," says the old man.
"Um, Lord Third?" calls Sarada, hands together and knuckles white.
The old man visibly softens his face for the girl. "Yes, child?"
"Minato thinks I'm Menma's apprentice?" she offers, wincing as she finishes. No doubt she expects some kind of disapproval for this white lie. Naruto hopes the third, if he feels anything like that, directs it at him. He's the adult here; the one who let the fib take root in his dad's mind as the truth.
Thankfully, the old man only seems thoughtful at this admittance. Stroking his beard, he murmurs, "Hmm… We can work with that." Nodding, he looks directly at them and declares with authority, "Menma, Saraka, you have been on a several years-long undercover mission and have just returned."
Naruto smiles. "That's totally what's happening!" he agrees. Then, because he knows the sandaime needs to know everything, he tells him, "I may have also said Saraka is the kid of my friends at one point?"
The third absorbs this information without so much as twitching. "I see," he replies. Smirking, he remarks, "I think that rather helps sells this story." Bringing his hands together, he elaborates for Naruto and Sarada, "She is the daughter of your friends. They passed shortly before your mission and named you as her guardian. When you accepted the mission, it was with the condition that you be allowed to take young Saraka and, as she grew, train her as your apprentice."
Naruto breathes out with relief. Yeah. It does help the little tale they're telling. "Okay," he says. "That's an easy enough story to keep straight." He squeezes the girl's shoulder, drawing her gaze to him. He puts on his best encouraging face and asks, "Right, Saraka?"
"Yes," she answers with a tiny grin. Cheekily, she inquires, "Should I start calling you Menma-Sensei?"
Naruto has to scratch his head. "I guess?" he answers, tacking on afterward, "Only if you want to, though!"
The sandaime clears his throat. "You should, Saraka, it is the appropriate way to address a teacher," he says. "It will also earn you fewer raised eyebrows."
The girl's brow furrows. "Okay," she replies. "Menma-Sensei it is."
Naruto relaxes a little. They have a cover story. Hopefully, it will hold for the time they are here in the past. His dad at least should accept it. He might be a jonin but he's quite young. He might not have even been a genin when Naruto supposedly left the village with Sarada for his undercover mission. Chances are even if his dad is suspicious he won't feel confident enough to try and poke holes in it.
He frowns. That won't be the case for other, older shinobi. "Minato will buy this cover story since that guy can't be a day older than twenty but what about other people who'd have been the same rank as me eight or nine years ago, Lord Third?" he questions.
The third, who is in the midst of taking another puff of his pipe, pulls it from his lips. "Direct anyone with concerns to me," he orders. "I will take care of them."
"Thank you, old man."
He lifts his lips, eyes almost warm. "You're welcome," he says to Naruto.
Naruto is about to turn to the door and get Minato when he is jolted by the realization they've not discussed Kakashi-Sensei and his predicament. "Ah, what about Kakashi?" he asks.
"I will summon him later to bring him up to speed."
"Awesome!" exclaims Naruto, relieved. He doesn't think he's going to have the chance to approach his teacher himself. No doubt as soon as they finish up here, they'll be whisked off to the sandaime's home and set up with stuff to keep them comfortable for at least a couple of days. While they settle in, Minato will return to his students to train them and, later, guard them against strange shinobi.
At last, the old man chuckles. Naruto's won, if nothing else, his good humor today. He gestures to the door and commands, "Saraka, please call Minato in for us."
"Yes, Lord Third!" the girl agrees before darting off.
Naruto puts himself back at attention, stealing himself for the next bit. He's never been a guy prone to headaches; being the Hokage hasn't changed that either but he's sure he can feel one coming on right now. He doesn't think Minato is going to be too happy with the little information the sandaime deigns to give him. Naruto wonders who Minato argues like; Naruto or Kakashi.
He grimaces. No, that's wrong. What Naruto is going to see is who he argues like. His dad came before Naruto even if right now everything is out of order.
Thanks so much for reading and let me know what you think!